in addition to being the editor of "white house history," he is an important author on books on white house history and i have just a few of them here tonight for you to see. in addition to his expertise on the white house, mr. seale is a scholar and sought after wise preservation of a range of historic american buildings. his preservation work is evidence in state c apitols and historic homes across the heartland of america. we are in for a very special treat this evening. although the white house is just across the street, only 200 yards from where we sit tonight, these two men will bring white house history to life for us tonight, right here. please welcome william allman, followed by william seale. [applause] >> roger mudd just said, don't blow it. [laughter] now i am nervous. i was not before. except one attending such a in 1814 inposium washington, we would concur with author beth taylor's 2012 observation that americans today , instead of ducking the anniversary of the burning of the white house, celebrate the rescue of the portrait of george washington. all of the longest-held

the white house garden, the white house -- the white house, the history of an american idea, which is really the architectural history of the house that he has written. he's also collaborated with artists. peter wadell on an artist visits the white house past which is a wonderful little booklet that is available. and the new book coming out and will be available tonight at -- in our gift shop and you'll be allowed in early to be able to have a copy signed if you'd like to do that at 5:45. the title is "the night they burned the white house." so we -- and also he's contributed many other publications, including our art historic guide book. with that i'd like you to give a warm welcome to william seale. [ applause ] >> do i need that on? hello. it's good to be here. i look forward to it and have enjoyed what i've been able to -- >> oh, i do. i have to have a microphone. machinery. i am going to talk about the symbol of the white house, the survival of it through time. and can everyone hear now? i mean, everyone that wants to. a monument you see, a symbol you feel, rather basic, but if t

vaulted over the white house fence. he ran all the way across the white house lawn. got all the way to the north portico doors of the white house. then opened the doors and went inside the building and was not apprehended until he was already inside the white house. if you really want to parse it, technically you could say what i said there was accurate, but honestly, what i just described there is not at all what really happened in that incident in the news. late this afternoon, early this evening, there was just a stunning development in what was already a pretty shocking story. i know the word shocking is overused in the news business. there is something shocking about this. particularly what we learned about it today. it's one thing when you see the president of the united states out working a line or doing an event in front of a large crowd. the president may be taking a little risk in terms of his safety to be out among the people. it's another thing to realize when the president is at home in what is supposedly the most secure building in the country, he's not

don't let them get in the white house ever. and if they have to take action that's lethal i will have their back. in this day and age of isil and terrorists and ieds and dirty bombs, we don't know what's going on underneath that person's clothing. if they want to penetrate that, they need to know that they are going to perhaps be killed. that's the message we should be sending every single time and that's the kind of secret service that i expect. i thank them again for their service, their dedication. we love them, we care for them but we need better leadership. it's not happening. i yield back. >> i thank the gentleman. we recognize the yes lay dpgengm the district of columbia ms. norton. >> thank you, ladies and gentlemen. thank you mr. chairman for this hearing. my respect to the secret service goes back to when i was growing up as a child in the district of columbia and continues to this very day. but today we must ask. recent events call for and recent unprecedented events call for an unprecedented response. first, an incr

don't let somebody get into the white house ever.nd if they have to take action that is lethal, i will have their back. in this day and age, we don't know what is going on underneath that person's clothing. if they want to penetrate that, they need to know that they are going to perhaps be killed. that's the message we should be sending every single time. and that's the kind of secret service that i expect. i thank them again for their service, their deck indication, we love them, we care for them, but we need better leadership. it's not happening. yield it back. >> thank you. now we go to mrs. norton. >> thank you mr. chairman. my respect for the secret service goes back to when i was growing up as a child in the district of columbia and continues profoundly to this very day, but today we must ask, recent events call for a recent unprecedented event, call for an unprecedented response. first an increasing number of white house jumpers including the most recent this month, before that in 2011, multiple shots into the living quarters

i walked through the white house yesterday. i was pleased to find not only tourists and protesters as usual. , you testified 16 jumpers, and only five years. there has been an increase in fence jumpers. i want to know whether you have simplyred before today, fence beat a higher built. one that for example could curve. the curve going outward, so maybe you would damage a body part if you try to get over it. are off the these top of my head, multilayered glass behind the fence that guns orsist blasts from bombs. since there have been 16 in five years, at least i think many more over the years -- have you considered such common sense so that thehat, public would still have access, but the president of the united states and his family would be protected? have you ever recommended that? >> we do want to work in partnership to ensure that the people have access in proximity to the white house, and the historic nature, and the natural significance. i do look forward to continuing to work with you and the administration, and the depart

. >> he vaulted over the white house fence, he ran all the way across the white house lawn. he got all the way to the north portico doors of the white house, he then opened the doors and went inside the building and was not apprehended until he was already inside the white house. >> technically, what you could say is what i said there is accurate but what i describe there had is not really at all whap in that incident in the news. >> there was just a stunning development in what was already a pretty shocking story. i know the woshd shocking is overused in the news business. but there is something shocking about this. it's one thing when you see the president of the united states working and you're thinking the president mieblgts be taking a lit m bit of a risk. but it is another thing all together to realize that when the president is at home in what is supposedly the most secure building in the country, he's not actually being well protected, nor is his family. the story is almost impossible to believe. tonight, it is almost impossible. when police did finally catch the guy

somebody approaching the white house, making a white house. no apparent weapon, can they take that person down? >> the law requirements that law enforcement officers ensure they are in imminent dangers or others are imminent danger before they can leverage lethal force. >> if the person is running at the white house they can or cannot use leathal force? >> those are going to be independent decisions made by the officer based on the totality of the circumstances. >> how does the officer know if they have a dirty bomb or if it's a terrorist? how do they know that? shouldn't they assume this person has ill intention? law enforcement officers are trained and observation skill -- i think it's confusing. this is part of what they have to deal with to make a split second decision. i want to be crystal clear. you make a run and a dash at the white house we're going to take you down. i want overwhelming force. would you disagree with me? >> i do want our officers and agents to execute appropriate force for anyone attempting to challenge or breach the w

if somebody is approaching the white house, has penetrated the security, and making a run for the white house, no apparently weapon, can they take that person down? >> the law requires that law enforcement officers ensure that they are in eminent danger or others are in eminent danger before they can use lethal force. >> so if someone is running at the white house they can or cannot use lethal force. >> those will be independent decisions made by the officer based on the totality of the circumstances. >> how do they know that they aren't a terrorist? shouldn't they assume that this person has ill intention? >> law enforcement officers are trained in onning servation skills, and i would assess they are constantly looking at people for ill intentions. >> i think this is confusing. this is part of what they have to deal with. i want it to be crystal clear, you make a run and a dash at the white house, we're going to take you down. i want overwhelming force. would you disagree with me? >> i do want our officers to use appropriate force for anyone attempting to breach the white house. >> the

as you say they saw him again in august with a hatchet near the white house.hey interviewed him and checked out his car, and he said he was camping. so he was clearly on their radar screen, but she said he had given them no reason to arrest him. they were just watching him. he had done nothing illegal. there has been a lot of praise for the individuals. they know they have a tough job, but the concern is that moral is down; that they don't feel they can speak out if something has gone wrong, and clearly congress thinks something needs to be done to get this agency in order. >> and lisa it appears that congress is drawing a line in the sand and that being the perimeter of the white house itself saying beyond that deadly force will be used in the future, because in the park across from the white house, there are a variety of people who would be deemed interesting, including a woman that believe there are people trying to invade her. so they always walk that tight rope. >> absolutely. and the director also mentioned that they currently are looking at over 300 peo

it is where members of the white house staff and white house journalists show up every day to do theirork. and facilitating your entry and exit to this complex with the minimal amount of inconvenience while also providing security is a priority. right outside the front gate of the white house is lafayette park which is mun the more prominent first amendment zones in the country. that individuals will gather in that area to make their first amendment views known and this means that the secret service has the challenging task of balancing the need to ensure the safety and security of the first family while also ensuring that the white house continues to be the people's house and bouncing those equities is challenging work but clear in this case a review of that work is warranted and that review will be conducted. >> what's the president's personal reaction to this? does he express concern about whether he and his family are truly safe here? >> i had the opportunity to speak briefly with the president about it earlier today. he did indicate, as you would expect, his family lives in the wh

some northern whites and blacks and even a few white southerners joined this fight but it was mainly a fight of southern african-americans. again, the conservative white south lost the contest. they lost less decisively this time. there wasn't wholesale destruction and utter defeat as in 1865. the white south lost less decisively this time but more definitively and more lastingly and we're going to talk about that. so, in both cases you've got a backdrop of black people struggling for decades against oppression and then you got a challenge to the racial order in the south. the first time it come from the north initially with southern blacks joining in. the second time it's southern blacks themselves that changed the order. in both cases the conservative white south loses. in the first instance the conservative white shout rebounds and erases many of the fruits of the first reconstruction. the second time around more of the gains have proved permanent i'll argue as we go on. all right. now in more detail what can we say is true in both cases, in both reconstructions? first of all, as

the nixon white house is really the white house today in the sense of the furnishings.e -- what they did was they put history back. that truman had torn away. as a presidential complex, the white house served the purpose well as an office adjacent to the residence. it's very crowded. and the office staff of some 3,000 people spills over into the historical state, war and navy building. that beautiful second empire m! building to the right of it or west of it. and across the street from there to the new executive office building, a large office -- modern office building. crowded office conditions for nearly everyone are tolerated because they have to be. being in the complex is paramount for one who works there. when one says, i work at the white house, it can mean a lot of places. a big fancy office or a broom closet. but sounds good.$÷h÷ but the residents always remains the central focus, the defining place. here the president lives.e2; here we imagine here every day. contact in a political system. the kennedy renovations did not create the white house symbol but see

stay tuned >>> the obama white house has insisted on editing these reports when a white house intern fainted and said that should be deleted because it would mere the woman. when the president talked about press freedom and contrast that with limited photos on the trip, the reference was removed. christina, how serious are these instances with the white house fiddling with the reports? >> i've written these reports before. they requested changes be made. they weren't changing them themselves. i covered an event once for the first lady. i wrote in my report they hadn't been checking bags. they viewed that as a security issue. they let it stand, but they were angry with me aefrts. what is weird about this is the actual process. >> it's a disbeautiful channel. >> also how they don't do it in foreign media. they send it to one another. when you have that possible filter when they're reviewing things, it opens up a lot of trouble. and the white house is very, very image conscious. >> the white house says there were only a handful of incidents, like with michelle obama working out and they

room of the white house? take a closer look. >>> topping our news here in washington today, white house security breaches. lawmakers want to know how it could happen and they're demanding answers from the u.s. secret service director, julia pierson. >> them coming to you and members in the agency -- that, i'm telling you, when i boil all of this down, that, to me, is dangerous. it has to go against morale. i don't even see how good decisions can be made in your own people don't feel a level of comfort or they feel fear that they are going to be able to talk about the things that concern them. >> representative e ji la cummings, the ranking member of the committee that's overseeing the secret service director there, julia pierson, says she takes full responsibility for this latest incident. the committee said it would hold an executive session, closed door secret session, following the hearing so that pierson could address some of the sensitive questions being asked. but increasingly some members losing confid

of "the white house." he spoke of the white house as a symbol of the american presidency at a symposium marking the 200th anniversary of the war of 1812 and the british burning of washington. the white house historical association, the u.s. capitol historical society, and montpelier hosted this event. it is about one hour. >> thank you. our next speaker will be william seale. and to us at the association, he doesn't really need much introduction. he's been a part of our organization as an adviser to our board for at least as the time he published his president's house" in 1986. he's been a mentor to us on the staff with research eeducation, publication. over all those many years and now is the editor of our white house history publication that you all received a complementary copy in your packets. i hope you'll enjoy that and hopefully become a subscriber to our journal and keeping up with the latest research. of course, william seale is an architectural historian and specialist on the restoration and pres

he had pictures of the white hou house. he had a machete, he had guns and was reported to the secret service. now it is true that all of this is a result of america now having so many of our ranking veterans coming home ill, but this could have been stopped before it even got started. >> had they arrested him and got him mental health perhaps. >> exactly. that's a big problem. an amazing thing here is now we have members of congress rushing back to have hearings on this occasion where the president is declaring war, having 10,000 troops committed yesterday, and yet most of the members of congress would rather be involved in reelection than to deal with the president's authority of war. >> why has congress called this hearing and didn't call a hearing to talk about the war with isis? >> i think it's very difficult for people to understand. very little can get in between a member's campaign to get reelected and the question of whether or not you're declaring war giving the president that authority has a lot more -- >> it's sa

on the morning of the day the white house burned, the white house was animated and in full operation. the day was scorching. the air by bid morning had begun to stir. dinner was being laid for 40 guests. with a blank card mrs. madison has sent out and sent the coachman to deliver by hand. regrets filled the mail basket in the entrance hall. still, the president and mrs. madison intended to proceed with their plans. capricious stories had spread in invasion predicting an and destruction of the city. the butler, john freeman, was busy arranging the dining room. slave owned by thomas jefferson allowed to take a salary from madison to help buy his freedom. he was assisted by paul jennings, an african-american youth of maybe 15, owned by madison. jennings was the president's valet and especially skilled in the details of setting up a proper dining room. the two preparations, placed wines on the side board and boiled and scrubbed the chamber pots, a convenience for the gentleman after dinner when the ladies have left the room. the lamps and candles stood ready to light. everything in the di

one white house tour. that isn't just getting inside, that's half of a white house tour to the american public. you keep minimizing this. i'm just wondering when do the red flags go up? i know you got a lot of wonderful people over there. but this is not their best work. we have a serious, serious issue here about protecting the president and his family. this is disgraceful. this is absolutely disgraceful. i'm not even going to mention the fact that it took us four days to figure out that somebody had shot seven rounds into the white house. this is beyond the pale. i have listened to your testimony very deliberately. i wish to god you protected the white house like you are protecting your reputation here today. i wish you spent that time and that effort to protect the american president and his family like i am hearing people covering for the lapses of the secret service on these several occasions. i really do. what are we going to do -- look, this whole thing is -- the united states secret service versus

changes could be coming for white house visitors. megan mcgrath is live outside the white house with more. megan? >> reporter: well, eun, people who live and work in the area, they're familiar with the traffic restrictions. pennsylvania avenue, the section in front of the white house, it has been closed to car traffic for years. but pedestrians they can just walk freely along pennsylvania avenue. they can walk right up to the gate in front of the white house. in fact, we can see some joggers here jogging in front of the white house early this morning. however, that may soon change. secret service is considering setting up screening check points for pedestrians in public areas around the white house. the discussion comes following a big security breach that happened last friday. take a look at this cell video. you can see the chaotic situation that unfolded. omar gonzalez jumped over the white house fence, ran across the lawn and went through the front doors of the white house before being tackled by secret service. he was arrested. h

he got through several rooms in the white house. someone in the white house was trying to down play it to the press. bill: there is a white house source that says they misreported it intentionally to down play the story. from a national security standpoint do you think that's defensible? >> we are five weeks from the election and you have got to get all the facts out. if you are trying to cover up to to debright's not good. that's the question for both republicans and democrats will be grilling the head of the secret service in about an hour. bill: secret service did in the lock down areas of the white house. and when that happens officers on duty don't have any knowledge of it which leads you to believe basic protocols weren't followed here. >> it's one of the most remarkable stories we have seen in years. what if it had been a coordinated attempt by a dozen people. if one person can get that far, that's what's so startling to many americans and the lawmakers who will be answering questions today. bill: they put up a second fence?

john adams lived in the white house about six months, or i should say abigail lived in the white house for about six months. thomas jefferson was a widower and his daughter helped for a while until she passed away. dolly then stepped in but it's really with james madison that we get the idea of the first lady as a hostess and someone who would invite members of congress and diplomats to come together for teas and other students to get together and chat. we kind of need a dolly in the white house today a little bit because she seemed to be effective at bringing opposing views to bear in the white house and getting them to be nice to each other while in her presence. part of what might have made her very appealing to her predominantly male guests would have been they are style preferences. which, as you can see, shows a little bit of bosom. and there were several people who really didn't like that very much, one of whom was her predecessor, abigail adams. i thought about putting a picture of abigail up here by means of comparison, because in abigail's portrait of the white house, -- or e

let's bring in white house correspondent michelle ka sin ski. >> reporter: you know, working at the white house, we are worried about security. >>> it's a matter of junk over the fence an sprint to the front of the residence and walk inside. so now we are going to see more security, more under surveillance, maybe even more bag checks outside, although, that's still being talked about at this point. security outside the white house now is visible, very visible. but it often is. so all the more dumb founding that omar gonzalez was dieblt this around 7:30 friday night. take a look at this video sprinting 20 seconds some 70 yards to a portico. there a secret service agent with gun drawn. in his pants pocket, a folding 95 with a three-and-a-half inch blade. >> in the days of isis, someone concerned about a terrorist attack, someone can get into the white house. >> reporter: now, of course the internal investigation, why weren't at the very least secret service dogs deployed and why couldn't officer versus gotten to him before he hit those doors? in a statement the secret service admits while t

and the white house is very, very image conscious. >> the white house says there were only a handfulof incidents, like with michelle obama working out and they thought that should be off the report. are there any of these instances that trouble you? >> the white house is always going to try and influence what's getting out. it's going to try to get its way. i think it's wrong that they have that ability, but i think the way to solve it is to remove them from the hub, the white house correspondents should be able to get the full report distributed to everybody without going through the white house. >> does this indicate a mind-set of trying to pressure reporters to delete things seen as negative? >> yeah, i think so. we know michelle obama works out. we've seen her arms, right? but it's the bathroom of the things and it's the way it is set up creates the opportunity for the white house to exercise prior restraint and to litigate these matters. the reporters, it's not hard to create an e-mail list where you blast this out yourself and cut the white house out of the process. >> and to b

of the white house, are they allowed to use white -- use smart phones while on duty?nd i'm talking about personal smartphones, texting, tweeting, playing games. are they allowed to use personal smartphones while on duty? >> no, they would not be. >> and that is strictly enforced a? you're confident? access to aey have blackberry, which is part of the tools that we give our officers and agents to receive information and pass information. but that is an official phone to -- >> that isthey an official phone to me, something they need. i'm talking about personal smartphones usage. you say they are not allowed to do that while on duty guarding the white house and its occupants. >> it is possible that some employees have a personal cell phone for emergency contact by their family, but they are discouraged from using any kind theychnology -- nine >> are discouraged from using. ok, a week before someone was caught jumping the fence, a week later, someone was not, correct? >> yes, sir. >> were you at the white house picnic this year? >> no, i was not. >> i'm sure you are famil

let's go to chris jansing at the white house.ou have something that is a bit more of a serious character here. we have a federal judge saying this man was a threat to the president. any reaction there from folks he white house? >> a danger to the president is the way they put it. and i think they would agree even though they have been very measured in their response, the president just saying when he was asked if he had confidence in the secret service, the secret service does a great job, i'm grateful for the sacrifice they make for me and my family. you also know that on friday, the president said he obviously found it all very concerning. i mean within ten minutes of when the first family left here, a guy with a knife ran across the lawn unimpeded and got through the front doors of the white house. that is unprecedented. and so while they're careful about what they say, there is and ongoing investigation. obviously there is a level of concern when someone with a weapon and who had -- no way of them knowing for certain what he

that is something that came up at the white house briefing earlier today, and white house officials, the white house press secretary was very frank in saying that the president and first lady were very concerned about this. you can expect the secret service director to be asked about this as well. and basically, in that case according to the "washington post," secret service officers upon hearing shots being fired in the vicinity of the white house, they were given a standdown order and were told at one point that no shots were fired. and we of course did not learn until days later that an usher found a bullet hole in one of the windows here at the white house and he alerted staff, and that is how the president and first lady found out about it. they were of course furious about this. and this is of course one of several incidences here at the white house that have raised very big questions about what the secret service is doing over here and whether or not they're providing adequate protection for the first family. the white house said earlier today the president does have confidenc

rice is in the white house.eneral shelton, united states army, is in the process of turning over to general myers united states air force. general myers was in washington d.c., and general shelton was actually out of town. he was overseas on his way back that day. 8:46 i am in the eisenhower office building adjacent to the west wing. we are getting ready for the presidents returned back to washington d.c. someone walked into the room and told us to turn on cnn the cousin small airplane had just struck the north tower of the world trade center. a bunch of aviators in that room. crystal-clear a, a tuesday not unlike today. -- crystal-clear day. the first comment in the room -- "it's a pretty big hole for a pretty small airplane. how can a pilot strike a target as big as the world trade center tower? there must have been a heart attack or a story we do not know." the plane had originated out of boston logan airport and was on its way to lax. over albany, new york, it made a hard left turn, came down the hudson rive

the white house garden, the white house -- the white house, the history of an american idea, which iseally the architectural history of the house that he has written. he's also collaborated with artists. peter waddell on an artist je7m visits the white house past which is a wonderful little booklet that is available. booklet that is available. he will be available tonight at -- in our gift shop and you'll be allowed in early to be able to have a copy signed if you'd like to do that at 5:45. the title is "the night they burned the white house." so we -- and also he's contributed many other publications, including our art historic guide book. with that i'd like you to give a warm welcome to william seale. [ applause ] >> do i need that on? hello. it's good to be here. i look forward to it and have enjoyed what i've been able to -- >> oh, i do. i have to have a microphone. machinery. i am going to talk about the symbol of the white house, the survival of it through time. and can everyone hear now? i mean, everyone that wants to. a monument you see, a symbol you feel, rather basic, but if

white house.east room of the white house. there's also been a new shooting here in the nation's capital. secret service agents moved in. how safe is the first family right now? congressman jason chaffetz is here. he's a key member of congress investigating all of this. congressman, we'll talk to you in a moment. so get a seat. "the situation room" will be right back. narrator: this is the storm sea captain: there's a storm comin narrator: that whipped through the turbine which poured... surplus energy into the plant which generously lowered its price and tipped off the house which used all that energy to stay warm through the storm. chipmunk: there's a bad storm comin! narrator: the internet of everything is changing how energy works. is your network ready?" ♪ who's going to do it? who's going to make it happen? discover a new energy source. turn ocean waves into power. design cars that capture their emissions. build bridges that fix themselves. get more clean water to everyone. who's going to tak

no individual should be allowed to feel the fence of the white events of the white house, sprint across the front lawn and burst into the residence of the first family with a weapon. no one. our goal today is also clear, to determine how this happened and make sure it never happens again . this is our watch. this recent incident unfortunately causes many people to ask whether there is a much broader problem with the secret service. omar gonzalez made his way into the east room, much further than the secret service previously disclosed. another report we can post about a shooting incident in 2011 raises even more questions about the competency and culture of this elite agency. what concerns me most about this report is that agents said they , agents in this agency said they were hesitant raise concerns with their supervisors. ladies and gentlemen, something is awfully wrong with that picture. the secret service is supposed to be the most elite, protective force in the world. by beforeays went they discovered that the white house had been shot seven times. then in 2012, there was the poli

more security at the entrances to the white house. can you imagine what the country would be going through if that person was wearing a vest bomb. we have seen what happens in some of the suicide attacks. one person can take out a very large part of the white house. i think it is a very serious matter. i have to believe you can patrol that perimeter in a better way, even if you have guards on the fence, but there is more security that could be added so we don't have to turn the white house into more of a fortress. >> not to make us all into armchair security experts here, there is a piece about the culture of the secret service and the fact that certain agents when there was a shooting in 2011 didn't feel like they could go to their superiors with the information they thought a gunman may have shot the white house. that is something that we have seen as a recurring theme here. i mean that seems like something that whoever is in that position is going to have to really make a systemic change at the secret service. >> absolutely. i thin

. 54 for blacks, 55 for whites. that is true not just for ferguson, nationally the black turn over exceeded the white turn over. 66.2% for blacks, versus 64.1 for whites. rolean martins is the hosting editor of "news 1 now", and is a sinned kated column -- syndicated columnist. he thinks it's important that they show up more the municipal and not the national elections especially in the suburb. >> numbers bear out if you have 67% ferps in a -- african-americans in a city, you think you would have formal representation on a school board or the city council. it's not the case. i call this invisible shackles. a lot of people believe their vote doesn't matter, that it's not going to make a difference. so for 21,000 people, 15,000 of the 21,000, or 18 or older, so you would think that you would see the different turn out. this tells me first and foremost that you do not have a real structure there when it comes to explain to people, voter education. we see this across the country. we see significant voters turn out or vo

the man who jumped the white house fence made it further into the white house than first reported. >> a popular supermarket in our region hacked. tonight, the message acme has for in pennsylvania, new jersey and delaware. >> tonight, the investigation into their alleged affair. >> good evening. >> we begin with a developing story. new details about the extent of the recent security breech inside the white house. the man prosecutors called a danger to the president made it all the way into the east room, much farther than previously stated. tonight's new information comes on the eve of secret service testimony about safety at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. nbc 10's george spencer talks to the security inspected xx. >> reporter: yeah, jim, the initial details of that september 19th incident were unsettling enough. but that intruder made it passed the stairway that led right up to the president's residence. >>> even in this shaky cell phone video, you can tell something is wrong as an intruder races across the white house lawn and up the front stechs. tonight, we know that breech was even mor

we know the man who jumped the white house fence made it farther into the white house than previously reported. cnn's jim acosta has the story. >> reporter: hernandez made it farther into the white house than previously stated. gonzalez managed to make it through a secret service officer at the portico doors and ran into the east room before he was tackled just as he was trying to head into the green room. no shots were fired inside or outside the white house. according to a memo used by the members of the committee this morning, there were multiple lapses that allowed gonzalez to make that far. one was a crash button which would have instantly locked down the white house. this information runs counter to what the secret service said on the night of the incident. a spokesman told reporters he was taken down inside the portico. according to white house officials, the president has confidence in her leadership. john and christine. >> thanks, jim, for that report. >>> residents of the syrian city of kobani are terrified and pleading for help. islamic fighters are two miles from the kurdi

. >>> trouble at the white house. let's play "hardball." ♪ ♪ >>> good evening, i'm chris matthews in philadelphia. home of the 3-0 eagles. anyway, lots of news tonight. all pretty startling. start with the guy jumping the fence in front of the white house, right there on pennsylvania avenue. then sprinting right into the president's house itself through the formal entrance known as the north port co-. what if someone from isis decided to try that route? speaking of which, we have a top u.s. official now saying that some americans who joined isis in iraq and syria have come home to the states. add to this the latest audio tape from the terrorist group saying, we americans will not feel safe even in our bedrooms. >>> we have a look at this incredible opportunity for the democrats in kansas to win this november. it's in kansas of all places, i said. and speaking of wind, what do you make of the fact that 3 300,000 people showed up in new york to demand action to climate change. >>> right now to the threat of the white ho

joining me now from the white house is nbc senior white house correspondent, chris jansing. chris, what is your reaction to the white house and what is the reaction in the white house to this report? >> it is as you said, stunning. the white house won't comment on these latest reports. neither will the secret service, but this really is, rev, a very different situation than we were led to believe. i was here that night. we just talked to congressman elijah cummings, the ranking member on the committee that will talk to the secret service director tomorrow. he said this should be a come to jesus moment. he said the secret service has not lived up to its reputation and here's why. after scaling the fence into what as you said is widely expected to be the most secure house in the country. he ran 70 yards across the lawn to the front door. now we know he got well into the building, confronting at least two agents along the way. how could this happen? well, we now believe the reason dogs didn't stop gonzalez when he sprinted across the lawn, was because there were a lot of office

now he ran practically to this the back end of the white house, practically the length of the white house, 50, 60 feet at least is the length of the east room. there are going to be very tough questions for this woman brought in by the president to repair the tarnished image of this agency. but the key question here is can they protect the president? and right now there are a lot of questions about that. part of this hearing may go on blind closed doors because of the sensitive nature. but this is a public hearing of julia pearson. there are dogs here. i've seen them in action when somebody scales the fence. they're extraordinarily well trained. extraordinarily intimidating. why weren't they released? the first story we heard is they were afraid because there were so many people on the lawn, so many agents, that the dog might not be able to distinguish the the agents from the rude intruder. if there were so many agents, why wasn't he stopped? it's going to be an interesting morning on capitol hill, luke. >> without a doubt. chris jansing, we appreciate it. for more on what questions we ca

the truth is black and white. the truth is black and white.you pull out the inner city if you pull out the inner city low income low income pulls. pulls. pulled them out and take every pulled them out and take every other school, we lead the world other school, we lead the world in public school education by a in public school education by a lot. lot. what is interesting is we think what is interesting is we think about finland. about finland. well, finland is mainly white well, finland is mainly white kids, right, and they teach them kids, right, and they teach them well. well. we teach our white kids better. we teach our white kids better. we beat everywhere. we beat everywhere. our white kids are taught the our white kids are taught the best public school education on best public school education on the planet. the planet. those are the facts. those are the facts. >> if you take the suburban >> if you take the suburban well-off-white kids out of the well-off-white kids out of the picture and now take the inner picture and now take the inner

>> richard, you know the white house. your reaction to this breach. >> well, i don't know that the first family will be really sort of terrified by all of this. they have a great relationship with the agents they come into close contact with. as chris said, it's not just that they come to the white house with young children, those children have grown up, not just in the public eye, but with the presence of secret service with them at all times. secret service is much bigger than the personal detail around the president. here you have uniformed officers who, anyone who has been around the white house, and i certainly have, has seen people being approached on the perimeter by uniformed agents, saying, what are you doing? where are you going? apparently this intruder was approached. why they didn't follow through with procedures is staggering and shocking. i'm sure that will be troubling to anyone around the first family. but again, what you just heard, when george stephanopoulos leaned against the tree, he recounts it in hi

that led up to the white house. i want to know how do they -- there are all kinds of layers, chris, that should have sounded the alarms. suppose we've got 12 and 13 folks jumping that fence. what would have happened then? there's one issue that really bothers me. that is there seems to be a climate or a culture where officers or secret service agents are afraid or they don't have confidence that they can let their superiors know exactly what happened. >>> in this kind of organization, chris, the most elite security force in the world, in the world, as far as protection is concerned, and the most guarded house in the world, this just does notwork. i'm trying to figure out exactly how it is that folks feel more comfortable acting as whistle blowers as opposed to going to their superiors. that's a problem. >> that's a really good point. part of the intrigue here, part of what's astonishing about this isn't just the change of events. it's the way those events had come to life and the trajectory of that information which

the white house print pool reports. how it works. each day, the print pool reporters follow the president around and write reports to the entire media before the entire media gets those reports, the white house reviews them and it is the white house that sends the reports out to everyone in the media now, i had no idea. i thought the pool sent the pool reports directly to everyone in the media but why is the white house seeing or reviewing the reports first? that's a little bit like sending the fox out to guard the chicken coop. i learned even more. on occasion, it could be rare, the white house doesn't like some of the condition tent in the pool reports. the white house pressures the print pool to change them. and in some instances, the pool has. that's really bad. that is so messed up. so much for freedom of the press, right? and besides the review, why is the white house in the business of distributing pool reports? it can't be costs? media organizations are so rich they can pay for it themselves. it sure can't be wh

buying business internet, on the other hand, can be a roller coaster white knuckle thrill ride.'re promised one speed. but do you consistently get it? you do with comcast business. and often even more. it's reliable. just like kung pao fish. thank you, ping. reliably fast internet starts at $89.95 a month. comcast business. built for business. >>> i have no doubt that we will control this importation or this case of ebola so it does not spread widely in this country. it is certainly possible that someone who had contact with this individual, a family member or other individual, could develop ebola in the coming weeks. but there is no doubt in my mind that we will stop it here. >> the first confirmed case of ebola in the united states. this one in dallas. there you see the head of the cdc. we are back with the panel. charles? >> look, i have no doubt that what he's saying is likely true and that he believes that we have the best public health system on the planet, the best ever. they will do the contact. they will do the tracing and the isolation and will do it well. but we are n

it's critical for the white house. they wanted to build an international coalition, it didn't want to be seen as another situation of here is the white house, acting on its own, going into the middle east, launching air strikes. whatever role the arab nations played, that is a factor that the white house wanted to see in place before they launched the streaks. we should say that martin dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs, when he testified in front of congress, talked about the campaign that would be launched against syria. he said it won't be shock and awe, that's the campaign against saddam hussein and iraq was call. it will not be shock and awe, because i.s.i.l. isn't organised that way. he said it will be sustained and persistent. we are seeing a bombardment tonight. and a number of ways they have gone after i.s.i.l., and the tomahawk missiles. there may have been predator drones, this is the first sal vo in many. it may be surprising to learn we have launched 100 air strikes in iraq. i'm not sure that the u.